Rupert Scott Musical Instrument Fund

Rupert Scott Musical Instrument Fund

It is with great affection that we have named our Musical Instrument Fund in honour of Rupert Scott, an outstanding musician and educator. A professional violinist for 25 years, latterly with Opera North, Rupert became a course lecturer and tour director for ACE Cultural Tours in 1998. In the ensuing 14 years, he led nearly 150 tours, including Haydn in Eisenstadt, Music in Leipzig, Chopin Festival in Poland and West Cork Chamber Music Festival. In 2004 Rupert became a trustee of the ACE Foundation, the parent charity of ACE Cultural Tours. Rupert’s keen intellect and broad knowledge of the arts were a highly prized asset to the Foundation. He was a trustee at the time of our purchase of Bury Farm and was very supportive of our plans. Rupert is much missed by all of us at ACE and by the many people who travelled with him and who were fortunate enough to share his endless enthusiasm and love for music. The magnificent Model B Steinway grand piano, often referred to as “the perfect piano”, will be a fitting tribute to Rupert who, as performer, composer and educator, expected nothing but the best.

The Rupert Scott Musical Instrument Fund raises money for Stapleford Granary to buy instruments of a calibre to attract first-rate players, teachers and recording professionals. The ACE Foundation has funded the development of Stapleford Granary from the charity’s savings thus far, but for the acquisition of high-quality instruments outside help is now needed. Thanks to an initial donation from Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, we have been able to establish the Fund in Rupert’s memory and it is hoped that your generosity will help us to acquire the best possible instruments to further our aims of offering exceptional education and broader participation in music and the arts.

Previous appeals

Steinway Piano Appeal

A universally recognised standard of excellence, the Steinway is the benchmark for what we want to achieve at Stapleford Granary. It is a wonderfully balanced and versatile piano that will meet the expectations of all top teachers and players. Playing a Steinway is in itself an education: indeed a piano of this calibre is essential for developing promising players to professional standard. Furthermore, a Steinway Model B at Stapleford Granary would benefit local communities and school children, whose access to such quality instruments is currently extremely limited. The Steinway Model B is the ideal piano for the Granary recital hall and will be an invaluable element of our educational courses and concerts

Professor Colin Lawson Director of the Royal College of Music

We are delighted that Colin Lawson, clarinettist, author and Director of the Royal College of Music, has agreed to be Patron of our Steinway Appeal and we look forward to recitals from the Royal College of Music staff and students.

The Steinway 88 Keys Appeal

The fund-raising target for the Model B Steinway is £63,500. Why not take part in our 88 Keys Appeal? Each donation will be associated with either piano keys or parts of the bodywork. You can sponsor a string for as little as £30 or Middle C for £2,000. Major donors (£10,000 or more) are invited on a private tour of the historic Steinway factory in Hamburg to help select our piano with ACE music tour director John Bryden. All donors will be acknowledged unless you would prefer to remain anonymous. All donors will be invited to an opening recital evening.